On Friday (April 2) night, a 26-year-old anti-farm law protestor was murdered by a fellow farmer protestor near Kasar village on the outskirts of Bahadurgarh at the Tikri border in Delhi.
As per reports, the victim has been identified as Gurpreet Singh. He was a resident of Barnala in the State of Punjab. The accused, Ranbir Singh alias Satta Singh, hails from the same village. Both of them had been camping at the Tikri border to protest against the farm laws enacted by the Modi government. On Friday, a fight ensued between the two over a monetary dispute in their tent.
An agitated Ranbir thrashed Gurpreet with a lathi and injured him badly. After committing the crime, he fled the scene. Gurpreet was rescued by other anti-farm law protestors, who then admitted the victim to the civil hospital in Bahadurgarh. He later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. The police have registered a case against the absconding Ranbir Singh on the basis of a complaint by the victim’s uncle Nahar Singh.
While speaking about the matter, SHO (Bahadurgarh Sector 6) Jai Bhagwan informed, “They had an argument over money exchange and Ranbir beat up Gurpreet with a lathi. Other protesters camping at the site rushed to Gurpreet’s rescue and got him admitted to the civil hospital in Bahadurgarh, where he died.”
The accused Ranbir Singh has been booked under Indian Penal Code Section (IPC) 302 (murder). Although he was absconding after committing the crime, he was later arrested by the police. On Saturday he was remanded to judicial custody. “Since it was an identified accused. We rushed our police parties and arrested him. He has confessed to have murdered him,” Jhajjar SP Rajesh Duggal said.
Elderly farmer protestor found murdered at Tikri border a week ago
This is not the first time that such an incident has come to light. On March 25, a 60-year-old farmer named Hakam Singh was found dead with a slit throat. According to the police, Singh was murdered using a ‘sharp-edged weapon.’ His dead body was discovered by other anti-farm law protestors in a field behind the new bus stand at the Tikri border.
A member of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur), he had been participating in the farmer protests but went home for about 1-1.5 months. After returning to the protest site on March 25 morning, his sister-in-law Karamjeet received information that his dead body has been found in the evening. The police had registered a case of murder against unidentified people under IPC Section 302 (murder).
While speaking about the matter, Inspector Vijay Singh (SHO City Bahadurgarh) informed, “The FIR has been registered just this (March 27) afternoon. The post-mortem is being completed today and the body handed over to the deceased’s family. We are yet to identify the accused, the matter is under investigation.”